As an American manufacturer and a family-owned business, we are always looking for ways to support the future of not only our company but other American manufacturers. We know the impact of STEM education on today's youth and often provide tours for high school and college students that are interested in careers in STEM related fields. And on Manufacturing Day, we bring students in with their educators to discuss the opportunities available and give them a close up look at what it's like to work for a highly automated manufacturer.
STEM and Manufacturing Careers
The need for talented manufacturing students is great
Last month, two of our Rodon employees, Dan Raymond and Matt Juckniewitz attended an annual local event called "Manufest". Dan is our Toolroom Foreman, and Matt is one of our Design Engineers. Manufest began last year as a way to get high school students interested in careers in manufacturing and to have a chance to meet with local manufacturers to learn about the companies and the types of jobs available to them after they graduate. This particular event was sponsored by the Montgomery County Commerce Department/Montco Works in partnership with the Bucks/Montco Alliance, Bucks County Workforce Development Board, Montgomery County Community College, and the MidAtlantic Employers' Association.
STEM and Manufacturing Careers
There has been a great deal of attention paid to the skills gap facing American manufacturers. The primary mission of last month's Manufacturing Day was to "addresses common misperceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is — and what it isn’t."
We all know that many young people shy away from STEM education and they have a distorted, grimy, perception of manufacturing employment and careers.
STEM and Manufacturing Careers
In the heyday of manufacturing in America, internships and apprenticeships were highly sought out job experiences. Students knew the skills they gained during an internship could help shape their future success.
Since the mid-1960’s, however, the industry and the employment picture has taken some big hits. It has only been in the past five years, that we have seen manufacturing output and jobs begin to grow again.
High schools and colleges throughout the country pay tribute to Rube Goldberg’s legacy every year though The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest. According to the contest website “The Rube Goldberg Machine Contests bring Goldberg's cartoons to life as a way of helping students transcend traditional ways of looking at problems, taking them into the intuitive chaotic realm of imagination. The resulting inventions are collections of bits and pieces, parts of now useless machines, cobbled together to achieve an innovative imaginative, yet somehow logical contraption to meet the annual contest challenge.”
STEM and Manufacturing Careers
As an American manufacturer and a family-owned business, we are constantly looking for ways to support the future of not only our company, but other American manufacturers. We know the impact of STEM education on today's youth and often provide high school and college tours to students who are interested in careers in STEM related fields. We bring students in with their educators, and often other administrators to discuss the importance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
It's a wonderful thing to see their eyes light up as we tour them through our automated facility and listen as they ask questions about machinery, robotics, plastic, processes and more. The majority of the students are curious, interested, excited. The majority of the students are also male. As a mother to a daughter who is interested in a career in engineering, I know how important it is to get girls involved in these opportunities early on. So what can we do to help nurture these young women and help set them up for a successful career?
